'˜He was a great man': Tributes paid to dedicated football charity volunteer

Graham Farr, 61, from Faith and Football died unexpectedly at the end of last month and members of the community have remembered him as '˜humble and generous man'.

Pompey legend Linvoy Primus, who started the charity, said: 'I was really surprised when I heard the news. Death is always sad but when it  comes out of the blue like this it makes all the harder.

'He was a massive Pompey fan who I would see at Fratton Park on occasions and through our charity work. He was someone who wanted to help his community. Our faith in Christianity and football cemented our relationship.

'Graham was big influence on me and was the kind of person who if you had a challenge to take on would always be ready to step up and take it on. That was the character of the man. He was a great man who will be sadly missed by a lot of people.' 

Graham was involved with Faith and Football since its beginning 17 years ago.

Assistance director of the charity Naomi Thakur said: 'It was a shock to hear about his sad passing recently. He was fit and healthy and relatively young.

'He was fully involved in the charity from 2002 and was the reason we were able to win a Queen's award thanks to his faith and commitment.

'He was involved in all areas of the charity whether that was acting as a business mentor, refereeing football games, organising and attending overseas trips for us to go to like when we went to the Great Wall of China.

'I only saw him a couple of weeks ago and told him how well I thought he looked. It is a sad loss to everyone who knew him across the city.'

Peter Jeffs knew Graham for over a decade thanks to the charity. The 76-year-old from Fareham said: '˜We met at a Faith and Football function about 11 or 12  years ago. He will be greatly missed by our community and he was a great servant to Faith and Football.

His funeral is on Thursday September 20 at 1.30pm at St Simons Church, Portsmouth.

His wife has requested donations to Faith and Football in honour of Graham. He was husband to Claire, Brother to Ian, Father to Emma and Oliver and Grandfather to Madison and Georgia.